For Ortega, the fundamental reality is not "thought" (as Descartes argued) but living . Life is something we are "fired into"; it is a series of choices made under pressure.
The mass-man enjoys the fruits of civilization (technology, medicine, rights) without understanding the effort or the principles required to sustain them. He is the "spoiled child" of history, demanding everything while feeling no obligation to excellence. 2. "I am I and my Circumstance" JosГ© Ortega y Gasset and the Dilemma of Modern Man
Ortega believed that modern man has developed "instrumental reason" (how to build things) but lost "historical reason" (why things are the way they are). For Ortega, the fundamental reality is not "thought"